GOP made it impossible for Obama to do more

A June 17 letter asserts that the Affordable Care Act signed by President Obama "has made America worse off." The writer is correct that Americans, tired of partisan politics, overwhelmingly voted for a president who proclaimed that there are no red states or blue states, but only the United States.

A June 17 letter asserts that the Affordable Care Act signed by President Obama "has made America worse off." The writer is correct that Americans, tired of partisan politics, overwhelmingly voted for a president who proclaimed that there are no red states or blue states, but only the United States.

But on the very night of Obama's inauguration, Republican leadership was meeting in a Washington steakhouse to map out a strategy to oppose the president on everything, and Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell declared "the single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president." I too feel sorry for Americans who believed Obama would unite Americans. That belief was based on the assumptions that Republicans would put country above party.

Obama proposed a market-based health care plan hatched by the Republicans' Heritage Foundation, but got zero cooperation from Republicans. Despite Republican-imposed gridlock resulting in the least productive Congress in history, the president has still managed a long list of accomplishments, including increased health coverage, getting bin Laden, saving GM, and a record stock market. With any Republican cooperation at all, he would have done much more.

The writer's reference to the president's skin color is revealing. Like Jackie Robinson, Obama has endured constant disrespect -- like being called "stupid" by the writer. Despite this, the president has remained civil, urging that politicians talk with each other in a way that heals, not wounds.